Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002943/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Fredis Beleris (PPE)
Recently, the Albanian authorities seem to have engaged in demolitions of private tourist properties, with the most recent in the Thethi region, where some of the properties had been licensed by the authorities and taxes paid to the Municipality and the State for several years. The owners, both Albanians and European citizens, point out that these buildings are on their property and the demolitions are selective and occur without warning, during the tourist season. At the same time, they complain that the demolitions are retaliatory in nature and punish citizens for their actions in the recent elections, while the citizens in question were never given the right to appeal to the courts against the administrative acts of demolition.
Acts such as these prove that the Albanian Government does not respect the separation of powers. As part of their accession process, candidate countries must fully comply with EU requirements on the rule of law, property and the right to a fair trial, as enshrined in Articles 17 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and Protocol No 1 to the ECHR. These practices call into question the commitment to the European path and raise issues of discrimination against specific communities.
In view of the above:
- 1.Is the Commission aware of any cases of arbitrary demolitions of properties by the Albanian authorities?
- 2.What measures does the Commission intend to put in place to ensure that every citizen’s right to a fair trial against any administrative act is respected?
Submitted: 16.7.2025